Thursday, March 26

Brian met Aeden and I at school and we went to lunch and a quick shopping walk in Kizilay. It is so nice to have time to eat and chat with Brian on weekdays without all the kids with us and to show him the things I've noticed along my dolmus route since he rode with me last. It is one of the things I will miss about this year.

We chatted about what we like about Turkey and will miss once we leave (in hopes of enjoying them more while we're still here, too). I have really been enjoying appreciating simple things and how my time here had made me revise my list of things I would bring with me "next time" or on a trip somewhere even more remote. Cinnamon and vanilla, for instance. They have a homey smell and taste and would be well worth the weight and space in packing. I didn't even consider those things to be important and just took them for granted at home.

Maren and I started work on a cross-stitch kit I got for her for her birthday. I'll fall asleep tonight hearing, "Right here, mommy?" over and over, as Maren was very careful to have every stitch in just the right spot. The kit was too cute to resist when I was out birthday shopping for one of the kids' friends a while ago, and I bought it and stashed it away for Maren's birthday. It has two sets (so she's shared one with Lacey), and you stitch the face of a little girl, then pour a plaster of Paris frame and paint the frame to mount the cross-stitch picture. Should keep us busy for a while, too!